LANGUAGE

After 150 years there are still Kashubs who speak the Kashubian language. Fourth, & fifth generation Canadian Kashubs still speak the Kashubian language. Although the next generation is losing it because of the influence of the English & French languages, the internet, TV etc. There are efforts to keep it going. There are English - Kashubian dictionaries available to help out the next generation.

In 2010, a joint initiative by the Wilno Heritage Society and the Kashubian Pomerania Association of Kaszebe which brought a Kashubian teacher to Canada’s Kaszebe to teach the youth at three local grade schools. St. Mary’s School in Wilno, St. John Bosco in Barry’s Bay and St. Casimirs in Round Lake Centre. Professor Karol Rhode a proud Kashub from Kaszebe introduced the Kashubian language in text, speak and also in song. He held adult classes every Friday evenings . Artur Jablonski, President of the Kashubian Pomerania Association and David Shulist President of the Wilno Heritage Society at the time, were very pleased with this initiative and found it to be very successful. The students got to showcase their success at the Kashub Day Festival in the spring of 2011. Both organization would like to see more of these class to happen in the future. If you are going to save any culture- You have to save the Language first.

The Kashubian language is very interesting that it has seven more letters in its alphabet compare to the other west slavic language such as Czech, Polish, Slovakian and Wendish. Although all these languages are related and many words are the same, there are many differences and when it is written, you can see the differences. You cannot mistake the Kashubian language because of added letters.

In the Summer of 2012 our community had a visit from a Professor Motoki Nomachi who has a Ph.d in Language Research and works for the “ Slavic Research Center “ at the University of Hokkaido in Japan. Professor Nomachi spent time recording local Kashubs on their Kashubian language and found that we speak the language very well. He also found out that we used words that most of the Kashubs in Kaszebe have forgotten and also we have created new words because some of the animals we have here in Canada are not found in Kaszebe, hence we made new words. As of now, Professor Nomachi speak three Slavic Language. His first was Russian, second was Polish and now Kashubian. He hopes to learn and study the Czech and Slovakian languages in the future.

The Kashubian language was never written or read in Canada. In 2001 the first Kashubian language book was given to the Canadian Kashubs and is now widely in use as a teaching tool.